PokeDex Oneshots
by PolarDawn
Summary: A series of oneshots based on PokeDex entries. A creative writing exercise.
1. Kakuna

Kakuna – #014

US/UM Entry:

Kakuna remains virtually immobile as it clings to a tree. However, on the inside, it is extremely busy as it prepares for its coming evolution. This is evident from how hot the shell becomes to the touch.

* * *

Ricky was on a mission. He was tired of being told over and over to only get close to the Weedle and Caterpie inside Viridian Forest. He was old now, almost nine, and already mentally preparing himself to become a Pokemon trainer in a little over a year. He knew he was capable of finding more advanced creatures in the woods, and he had snuck off to do just that.

He wasn't sure exactly what he wanted to find, but knew that Kakuna and Metapod were nothing to be afraid of, since in reality they were just immobile and defense based. He had thought about trying to find some Beedrill but decided against it. He was wary of them, though he would never admit it to anyone but himself. Eventually he set his sights on finding a Butterfree. They were a fully evolved Pokemon that no other kid in his class had seen in the wild. He wanted to be able to brag about the sighting when he got back to school.

Viridian Forest was bigger than it seemed, and it was easy to get lost if one didn't follow the main trail to Pewter City. There were always stories of people getting lost and taking days or weeks to find their way out, but he wasn't worried. A real Pokemon trainer, as he was soon to be, would never get lost. As Ricky wandered on, he was enthralled by the serenity of it all. The sun creating shafts of light down to the forest floor where it broke through the canopy above, the stillness of the interior resulting from the lack of a breeze, and the song of Pidgey and Spearow in the upper branches.

Ricky loved Viridian Forest.

As he made his way over a small rise, he saw them: Kakuna. Loads of Kakuna, scattered everywhere across every tree in sight. A Beedrill nesting ground, he figured. He knew it was dangerous and that he should avoid the area, but the temptation of seeing his first Kakuna up close was strong, and he glanced around before moving down the slope towards the nearest tree.

Moving closer, he could feel the air begin to warm up, making it feel more like some kind of jungle than just a forest. There was also a kind of background hum, which took Ricky a moment of thought to identify as the buzzing of the Beedrill swarm somewhere up ahead.

He quickly made up his mind; he just wanted to see one Kakuna up close, maybe touch it, and then he would leave. Being this close to a swarm wasn't safe, and Ricky didn't want to end up as a cautionary tale for future kids.

Inching closer to the one on the tree before him, Ricky stuck out his hand to touch the Kakuna's shell, and- "Ow!"

It was hot! Not expecting the heat, he cried out and stepped back. Suddenly, he saw the Kakuna before him begin to glow. He knew what that meant.

There was about to be a newly evolved Beedrill right in front of him. Bad news.

As he was about to turn and run, he saw other Kakuna nearby starting to glow as well. Even worse.

He wanted to see a fully evolved Pokemon, but not like this. He had to run before they were aware of their surroundings. Ricky turned and booked it. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he could already hear the angry buzzing growing louder behind him as he charged up the hill once more. Reaching the top, he slowed his pace to catch his breath and took a glance behind him.

Beedrill. Lots of them.

Breaking into a true sprint now, Ricky careened down the other side of the hill and across a small stream he had traversed earlier, running as fast as he ever had in his life. Suddenly, he blasted out onto the main path back to Viridian City, scaring the daylights out of an unfortunate bug catcher that happened to be nearby.

The bug catcher was about to shout after the rapidly vanishing Ricky to ask why he was running, but by then could hear the ominous buzzing of the approaching Beedrill as well, and quickly turned and ran after the boy. Being rather experienced in the woods, the bug catcher knew that Beedrill swarms typically won't continue to chase people once they reach the edge of the forest, so he and the shrilly screaming little boy only had to make it that far, or to some form of shelter to weather out the swarm.

Being older and having longer legs, the bug catcher caught up to Ricky and yelled at him to keep running straight to the Gatehouse, and that they were almost out of the forest. So close, but yet so far when there was a massive swarm of angry Beedrill bearing down on them.

With the bug catcher now pulling away from him, Ricky knew that he would be the first to go when the Beedrill caught up, and stole a look behind him once more. Just feet behind him were the malicious faces and cruel stingers of the Bee Pokemon, ready to inflict their punishment for his disturbance.

When he turned his head back to the front, he realized he could see the Gatehouse to Viridian City and doubled down, promising that if he were to make it out of this alive he would never sneak back into Viridian Forest by himself again.

The bug catcher reached the Gatehouse door and charged through it into safety, just as Ricky felt a stinger tear the back of his shirt. Thinking that this was it for him, Ricky threw himself forward and closed his eyes. He rolled a couple times and then stopped, waiting for the inevitable.

It never came.

Ricky opened his eyes, saw the ceiling of the Gatehouse, and knew that he had made it.

He also knew that he was going to have to find some way to explain to his mother how the back of his shirt had been ripped open. That was going to be fun.

* * *

The beginning of a small exercise in creative writing I've decided to start, for better or worse. Please enjoy!


	2. Haunter

Haunter #093

Silver Entry: Its tongue is made of gas. If licked, its victim starts shaking constantly until death eventually comes.

* * *

Lavender Town: former home to the Pokemon Tower, before it was demolished and Kanto's Radio Tower was built in its place. However, this small town is still home to ghosts.

Todd was all set to go. He and his girlfriend, Samantha, were heading out to a house party at a friend's house. It was to start at 12:00 AM, and they were already running late.

"Come on, Sam! We've gotta get going before they shut the streetlights off at ten!"

"Todd, I'm almost ready, just give me another second, mmkay?"

Todd smirked and returned to looking at his phone, knowing she'd be another few minutes at least. Sure enough, 15 minutes later they were heading out the door. It was 11:50 PM.

The couple walked over to Todd's Volkswagen and hopped in. It was about a 20-minute drive to the party, so they buckled up and headed out, with Samantha plugging her phone into the AUX. Hitting shuffle brought up some old pop song that they both knew, so they began singing along heartily as was their norm. In the middle of the third song, Todd suddenly glanced down at his dash and groaned.

"Fantastic. The check engine light is on. Again."

"I really think you need to sell this and get something else," Samantha said, rolling her eyes. "This thing breaks every week!"

"Yeah," Todd said, sighing. "I'd better get out and check on it."

Todd pulled over to the side of the road and turned the car off, before undoing his seatbelt. Then, just as he opened the door, all the streetlights flickered and shut off. He whipped his phone out and looked at the clock. 12:01 AM. The lights where off for the night. He swore.

"This isn't good," he mumbled, popping the hood and getting out of the car. Todd looked around quickly, checking for any of the ghosts that inhabited the area. Seeing none, he went to the front of the car and opened the hood, setting up the arm to hold it in place. With his phone flashlight illuminating the engine bay, Todd set to work checking for anything out of place that could have caused the light to come on. Engrossed in his task, he didn't take note of the chill creeping up behind him until it was too late.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he whipped around just in time to feel a cold, gaseous, and yet somehow smothering sensation move up across his face. He jerked back and saw only the eyes and mouth of a Haunter slowly backing away from him. Malicious laughter found his ears, and he knew that his check engine light was now the least of his worries.

Todd closed the hood and climbed back into the car quickly, slamming the door shut behind him. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them once more, already feeling the muscles in his fingers start to twitch.

"Sam…" he trailed off.

"What, Todd? Did you fix it?" She glanced up from her phone and saw how pale his face was. "Are you alright?"

No answer.

"Todd?"

"It licked me."

"What licked- Oh. A Haunter? Todd, we need to get you to the hospital right now!" They switched places in the car so that Samantha was driving, and she took off towards the Lavender Town clinic, as it was the closest thing to a hospital nearby.

Todd could feel his whole body beginning to shake. It was like the uncontrollable shivering he had felt when he'd just jumped into cold water. It was already to the point where his teeth were chattering so badly that he could barely form words, and he knew that if it continued he soon wouldn't be able to control the larger movements of his arms or legs.

Samantha was terrified, driving as fast as she ever had in her life. She knew the stories of people who had been licked by Haunter, how their bodies would begin the shivers that would quickly turn into uncontrollable shaking that would continue to worsen until their bodies suddenly gave out and they passed away. She turned the corner onto Elm Street and could finally see the clinic a few blocks away.

She put her foot to the floor, and the car juddered before dying completely and rolling to a stop. Samantha screamed and pounded the steering wheel in frustration and guided the car to the side of road. She leapt out and ran to the passenger side, throwing open the door and pulling Todd out of the car.

"You need to walk the last two blocks to the clinic! Your stupid car died!" Todd was shaking too much to talk, he weakly nodded and with Samantha's help began to stumble towards the clinic. He was leaning heavily on her shoulder, when he suddenly fell into a seizure. Samantha screamed again and fell to her knees next to him. After a moment, the seizure eased, and he was able to continue crawling towards the clinic, Samantha helping him along.

Only half a block away now, Todd was really struggling. He had almost no control over his body as a result of the intensity of the shaking. Samantha made a snap decision to run ahead to the clinic and see if they could bring a stretcher out to carry Todd into the emergency room. She ran into the door, expecting it to open, but bounced back, almost falling over. She looked back at the door and saw a sign stating that the normal operating ours of the clinic ended at 9:00 PM, and to call 911 for any other emergencies.

With another scream of frustration, Samantha pulled out her phone and began to dial 911. As the operator picked up, she turned to look back at Todd, and saw that he had disappeared from the street.


	3. Sandslash

Sandslash #028

US/UM Entry: "Its claws and horns often break off. The broken claws and horns can be used to carve plows for tilling farm fields."

* * *

*CRACK*

The old man stumbled and fell to his knees. That was it, his old plow had finally given out. Now he had nothing to tend his fields with, nothing to make ready to plant the crop that would ensure his family's subsistence for another year. He knew his luck had finally run out, and they would have to move to Saffron City to find some kind of factory job there just to survive.

He knew that people said the city was where the opportunity was, where people could make something of themselves by working hard and finding favor. But he was old. Too old to spend years slowly increasing in position within a factory or a business, and he knew that.

The small farm that he and his wife worked was all that was left for him now. It wasn't all bad, either. He enjoyed working the farm, watching the crop grow, and harvesting it at the end of the season every year. It was a good life. Simple.

But now, as he stared at the pieces of his plow lying in front of him in the dust, he knew it was over. He didn't have any extra money to buy a new plow, and all of the models being sold now were expensive and fancy, much fancier than an old man wanted or needed. He looked up, staring across the brown dust of the empty field, the air wavy from heat-haze, and he knew.

Unless some kind of miracle were to happen, there was nothing left for him here.

Then, as if in answer to a prayer that was never made, a voice hailed him from the road that passed by the farm.

"Ho, farmer! Are you alright?" It was a youngish man, dressed casually in jeans and a brown jacket that was moving in the slight breeze.

"Oh, I've had better days," the old farmer answered, pushing his hat back and rubbing his forehead.

"I see your plow is broken… Anything I can do to help?"

The farmer chuckled ruefully. "Unless you have another plow, young man, I'm not too sure."

Suddenly, the young man snapped his fingers, perking up. "As a matter of fact…" He rummaged in his backpack, and pulled out a PokeBall as well as a sharp, bone colored object. "…I have just the thing."

He held the ball out and released a strong looking Sandslash, which called out its name and looked around, before moving to the broken plow. The young man started to talk again, and the farmer tore his eyes away from the Pokemon to look back at him.

"Sandslash here broke a claw off a few weeks ago while he was digging, and I've been carrying it around since. I wasn't sure what to do with it, truth be told. It just so happens however, I read somewhere that their claws, once broken off, are perfect for turning into new plows. It isn't too difficult either, you just need to find some sturdy wood that can be carved into the correct shape!"

The farmer clambered to his feet and looked at the young man, his eyes alight. "I have just the wood we need, let's go!"

The three of them, two men and a Sandslash, strode back across the field to the farmhouse, which had a few trees growing around it. As they got there, the farmer pointed to some big pieces of wood lying next to the house.

"These are all from a big tree that I cut down a month or so ago, they should work."

The young man agreed, and they all set to work. They selected the pieces that would work the best for making a plow and carried them away from the rest into a better working area. Using the claw, they slowly carved out the shape of a handle and a shaft for the plow.

Hours later, after finishing the different pieces, they sat back, resting for a few moments.

"You know," said the old farmer, "we didn't make anything to use as the blade for the plow, and the old plow blade is just about at the end of its life as well. Thank you very much for helping me get this far, but I don't think we'll be able to finish this." Sighing, he stared at the progress they had made.

"No problem, we can use Sandslash's claw as the blade! They're perfectly shaped for this kind of work, actually," replied the younger man. "All we have to do is use some sturdy twine to attach the pieces together. It may fall apart after a while, but all you'll need to do is use new twine to retie the knots in place."

Thrilled with this solution, the farmer got up and went into his workshop to find some twine, coming out a few moments later with a big roll of it.

"Fortunately," he said, smiling, "twine is something that I have plenty of!" They both laughed and set to work tying the pieces together, with the young man's Sandslash bracing them so that they could be tied.

Finally, with a last, if somewhat unnecessary flourish, the young man completed the final knot, leaving them with a whole plow at last. They both grinned, and the farmer stood up, hefting his new plow in both hands.

"I had better go test this out in the field, I have no time to delay getting everything planted or it will be too late!"

The young man laughed again, enjoying seeing the farmer happy at last. "That sounds great! I had better get going on my journey, I need to make it to Celadon City to see my parents, I'm already late to see them."

"Oh!" the farmer exclaimed. "You'd better get a move on then! Thank you so much for all your help, you're always welcome here!"

"It was no problem at all," replied the young man, before shaking hands with the farmer and continuing his walk to Celadon City.


End file.
